Complex Travel Group’s Mark Trim reveals premium travel boom
Travel industry executive Mark Trim is such a fan of flying at the pointy end his young kids have already done 150 business class flights. Here he shares his insights and predictions.
It’s almost a childhood rite of passage to dream of being a pilot. At the age of 12, Mark Trim was no different. The dream died early but the fascination with travel continued, says Trim, who is founder and managing director of Adelaide-based Complex Travel Group.
Straight out of Adelaide’s Flinders University with a finance degree, Trim cut his teeth at Flight Centre until age 23, then started his own agency in 2008. He found the work of constructing tricky itineraries and complex airfares came naturally. Trim had also spotted a gap in the Australian travel market. “There was nobody selling round-the-world airfares,” he says.
He stepped into the breach and now focuses on “savvy premium travellers” who want to fly more comfortably “at a good-value price point”. Business-class travellers are bolstering the growth of the company, which turns over more than $140m a year and has a team of 70 working across seven brands, including Flat Beds, QFlyer and Round About Travel. The company has a Perth office and recently added one in Melbourne.
After the commercial and professional challenges of the pandemic, Trim made a pact with himself to take more time to have a holiday each year with his young family. That said, you won’t see him travelling in September any time soon. “Sixty to 70 per cent of our inquiries over the last two months have been for September, so airfares are just crazy,” he says. “September is no longer shoulder season; it’s the new peak season.”
What’s the future for premium cabins?
The big trend we’re currently seeing is business class becoming a slightly smaller and narrower first class. In time, premium economy will really become a smaller, old-style business class. If you go back 20 years, business class was just a recliner seat. Airlines just keep raising the bar – even though, sadly, we’re not seeing our national carrier revolutionise its product. United Airlines, which was once considered pretty poor, is already on its second or third retrofit since Qantas released its first business suites.
What’s hot in travel right now?
“Bleisure” travel, where you mix business with leisure, is really huge at the moment. We need a better word for it, but I’ll begrudgingly stick with it for now. We’ll have clients say, “I’ve got a conference in Frankfurt but I want to come back through Miami or do a cruise in the Caribbean”. Our team might find a normal business ticket is $12,000 but we can get them around for $9000 with a holiday added on, all while saving their company money too.
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My best first class flight
First class isn’t on that many aircraft but by far the best experience I have had is the Singapore Airlines suite (pictured). It’s incredible because you get a separate chair and bed. A surprising (second-best experience) was with Lufthansa. The first-class lounge at Frankfurt airport in Germany has a great restaurant, then you’re driven to the tarmac in a Porsche or BMW. The four of us (my wife and two children) had an open-style suite with a flight attendant dedicated to us, which was incredible.
Trending travel destinations
When the Japan boom really started to take off, Sri Lanka was the other happening spot, but interest waned and is now reigniting. It’s not just a stopover; it’s a destination in itself. In Europe, there’s a trend towards Scandinavia, and if I had to predict where’s next following the current “Portugal peak” it would be Slovenia.
Best business class cabin
It’s not really known to Australians but the best business class I’ve flown recently was the Japan Airlines A350-1000. It’s better than a (Qatar Airways) Qsuite because it’s private, has amazing storage and a 4k audio-video system. A lot of features you can expect from the next generation of the Qsuite are already on the JAL aircraft. I would say the most underrated airline is Oman Air – it has a really good product for the price point.
Peak travel seasons
People are still trying to book flights for holidays three to six months out. Nowadays you need to be thinking seven months out at the very least. Our prediction is next May will be really popular in destinations such as Europe. A lot of people are delaying their holidays because this year has shown a seismic shift in demand for September travel when there are fewer crowds and less heat. To travel in May, you need to be booking in August. For next September, you need to book in October or November this year.
Travelling with children
My daughter’s 12 and my son’s nine – they’ve both done more than 150 business class flights. There’s a big benefit to starting them early. If you can afford to travel with children while they’re young, it tends to make it easier when they’re older. While travelling, it’s critical you and your partner are not stressed. If you are, they’ll pick up on that. For that reason, my wife and I have defined roles when we travel. It helps when performing tasks like filling out immigration forms.
Best beach in South Australia
We have an Airbnb property on Aldinga Silver Sands Beach, which is in a really beautiful part of South Australia’s mid-coast, about 10 to 15 minutes from McLaren Vale. Right near our house is a restaurant on the beach called Pearl, which serves lots of fresh seafood. There are not many better places in SA to have a meal than down there, overlooking the ocean.
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